For Lowell, last year's discouraging season was due in part to the
sub-par performance of the goal-tending crew. Of course, we could
hardly expect to have another Hobey Baker Finalist like we had in
Dwayne Roloson, but the performance of the three goaltenders that
Bruce Crowder decided to carry was far short of acceptable. Now,
Lowell has never been a strong defensive team, but it was so
discouraging to see Lowell give up so many weak goals. In my opinion,
the weakest goalie was Fillion. The short, stocky kid looked far from Div.
1 material. I was surprised when Crowder seemed to start this year with
Fillion as his #1. I was glad to see he was only carrying 2 goalies, but I
thought Lindsay was the better of the 2. However, Crowder knows
much better than I, and now I can see why.
 
    Last night, as I watched Lowell take it to Providence for the third time
in less than 3 weeks, I couldn't help but reflect on how well Fillion has
done lately. A week ago Friday, he had a career high 39 saves against
the then-#1 B.U. club. He gave up 6 goals in that game, so I would hardly
consider him the main factor in that win, but all BU's scores seemed to be
more of a testament to their proweress. Marty certainly was a key factor
the next night in Lowell's 5-4 victory. He stoned many BU's chances
during 5-on-3 advantages and he was there when needed while Lowell
held their one-goal lead for the last 17 minutes of the game.
 
    It was nice to see him get the shut-out last night. I don't have any
notions of him posting any fantastic goals-against average the rest of the
season, but the confidence in Marty's ability is definitely there and I
imagine its making a big difference amongst the Lowell players. Known
as a team of speed and offense, it certainly is a comfort to see there #1
goal-keeper getting some much needed confidence. Especially in the light
of the fact that Marty has recently been granted another year of eligibility
... so he's only a sophomore.
 
   Now, can anyone tell me why Lowell drops a place in the WMEB poll
when theyposted 8-4  and 5-0 victories against Yale and Providence
respectively?
 
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